The Secret Service has denied claims it refused additional protection to former President Donald Trump before the assassination attempt on him Saturday.
There is “an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wrote on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. “This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo.”
The Secret Service’s denial appears to come in response to an allegation by Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had refused to boost Trump’s protective measures.
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“I have very reliable sources telling me there have been repeated requests for stronger secret service protection for President Trump,” Waltz wrote. “Denied by Secretary Mayorkas.”
A Trump spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the assertion.
Trump said a bullet “pierced the upper part” of his right ear as several pops could be heard at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Bleeding, he raised his fist in defiance as the Secret Service rushed him out of the venue. He and his team later confirmed that he was doing well.
Several Republican lawmakers immediately demanded an investigation into how someone was able to shoot the former president, according to Reuters, with Speaker Mike Johnson promising to call representatives for the Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in for questioning.
The Secret Service handled Trump off stage as he raised his fist. Now the agency is under scrutiny over its wider security performance.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images“Although we still do not have all the facts, the little that we do know suggests a staggering security failure,” wrote Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO.)
Large political rallies generally have tight protective measures, including metal detectors that prevent attendees from bringing weapons inside the security perimeter. Guglielmi confirmed that the shooter had taken an “elevated position outside of the rally venue” and that “U.S. Secret Service personnel neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased.”
The Secret Service, which rushed Trump to his armored Chevy as well as neutralizing the shooter is now facing scrutiny over its actions. It denies having refused to ramp up his protection.
Brendan McDermid/ReutersThe shooter was reportedly crouched on a roof about 150 yards from the former president.
“The issues about having to get within 150 yards, that is very concerning, that should never have happened,” former FBI agent Christopher O’Leary said on NBC News. “My assumption would be that that was left to be covered by state and local law enforcement and there was a breakdown and somebody was able to get in there.”
Since the assassination attempt, Republicans also slammed Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and other Democratic lawmakers for introducing a bill in April that would end Secret Service protection for any federal official upon sentencing for a felony conviction. A Manhattan jury in May found Trump guilty of all 34 felony counts in his hush money trial.
Trump’s team has assured voters that he looks forward to attending the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next week. The festivities are scheduled to begin Monday with heightened security measures.
